Dance/NYC: Talk it out!

I've begun reading the notes from Dance/NYC's community conversations which drew together numerous dance organizations, company managers and individual artists to talk about varied and enormous challenges faced by New York's dance field. These preliminary discussions--and the potential mobilization and advocacy--are exactly what we need now.

There's much to be done. Please read this invitation from Dance/NYC director Lane Harwell, and get involved online now or in person on Thursday, June 23.

Thank you!
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Greetings from Dance/NYC!

As you may know, with support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Dance/NYC is undertaking a strategic plan to maximize its foundation of service and build new capacity for NYC dance. Emma Dunch and Andrea Sholler of Dunch Arts, LLC, are managing this plan, which was launched with a series of community conversations to deepen Dance/NYC’s understanding of field activity, need and opportunity.

Today Dance/NYC and Dunch Arts bring the discussion online and invite you to join in.

Visit here for the content and guiding questions from the first three community conversations, including a meeting of 23 service organizations (yes, that many organizations working to support the field), a meeting of dancers and dance makers, and a meeting of dance managers. Help us to set the course for the future of Dance/NYC. Tell us what you think. Respond to the questions. Share your own experiences and your goals for the field. And stay tuned for the content from two other public discussions, Thursday, June 16 and Thursday, June 23 (click here to RSVP for 6/23).

Send all feedback to Emma Dunch at dance@duncharts.com.

Please check here for planning and community conversation updates. With thanks for all you do for dance. Onward.

Lane Harwell
Director, Dance/NYC

PS. Click here for the full release of these community conversations: This is what strategic planning should look like in the Internet era.

NYLA, for your viewing pleasure

New York Live Arts Community Welcome Session

Filmed February 19th, 2011. Co-Presented by Dance/NYC.

The leadership of New York Live Arts: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Dance Theater Workshop re-imagined, conduct a panel to discuss the decisions and visions behind New York Live Arts. Moderated by Michelle Coffey

Invitation from NY Live Arts, Febuary 19

New York Live Arts Community Welcome Session

Saturday, February 19, 3pm

Dance Theater Workshop

Bessie Schonberg Theater

219 West 19th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues), Manhattan

RSVP required: nyla.eventbrite.com

Meet the staff of New York Live Arts and get answers to your questions about the new organization!

You are invited to a Welcome Panel and public discussion addressing the recent merger between Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Dance Theater Workshop to create New York Live Arts.

 Panel

Jean Davidson, Executive Director, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company 
and New York Live Arts

Andrea Scholler, Executive Director, Dance Theater Workshop

Bill T. Jones, Executive Artistic Director, New York Lives Arts

Carla Peterson, Artistic Director, New York Live Arts

Moderator TBA

Followed by open Q & A

Reception to follow in the Dance Theater Workshop Lobby

RSVP required: nyla.eventbrite.com

Merger agreement: DTW & BTJ!

Dance Theater and Bill T. Jones Troupe to Merge

by Kate Taylor, The New York Times, December 1, 2010

Let's stay together...

Bill T. Jones and Dance Theater Workshop Explore Merger

by Felicia R. Lee, The New York Times, April 26, 2010

DTW looks forward

Dance Theater Workshop's 2009-2010 season will present a diverse and breathtaking spectrum of projects sure to excite and challenge audiences. Today, artistic director Carla Peterson announced her roster of participating artists, including Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People, Raimund Hoghe, Neal Medlyn, Tere O'Connor, Urban Bush Women, Kimberly Bartosik/daela, Bruno Beltrão/Grupo de Rua, koosil-ja/danceKUMIKO, Sahar Javedani, Yasuko Yokoshi, Faye Driscoll, Nora Chipaumire, Pat Graney Company and many others.

With reduced ticket prices, a new fee-free ticketing policy and expanded socializing/education initiatives that include a pioneering Dance Docent program, DTW hopes to make some of the world's most innovative dance enticing and accessible to far more people. Hooray!

From September 8, 2009 through June 2010, the savvy dance fan might find him- or herself tempted to set up household at DTW.

Connect with this re-energized, forward-moving DTW at its website and blog and on Twitter.

DTW's Greco to step down

The Board of Directors of Dance Theater Workshop has named Andrea Sholler as its new Executive Director effective October 1. Stephen Greco will step down from that position and will focus on marketing and branding opportunities for cultural institutions.

Sholler served as Dance Theater Workshop’s interim Executive Director prior to Greco’s appointment in July, 2007. She most recently served as a Program Officer with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs where she helped to administer the $27 million Cultural Development Fund.

“I have been honored and pleased to serve Dance Theater Workshop as Executive Director during a time of great change,” said Greco. “Dance Theater Workshop, like so many cultural organizations throughout New York, is looking toward new ways to promote its work and attract new audiences. I am proud of the branding work we have accomplished over the last year and look forward to continuing to help Dance Theater Workshop and other cultural institutions achieve their branding goals.”

Said Sholler, “Stephen has a brilliant marketing mind and I look forward to his continued involvement in our efforts to inform the public of Dance Theater Workshop's mission and incomparable programming. From the 1980’s, when I managed a dance company that frequently performed at Dance Theater Workshop to the incredible 2008/9 season created by Artistic Director, Carla Peterson, I have always been impressed by the amazing opportunities that this organization is able to offer a wide range of artists working to push the boundaries of movement and the meaning of dance. I am thrilled to be returning to Dance Theater Workshop and look forward to working closely with the organization's staff, board, funders, and friends, to support this unique institution and the extraordinary artists and art form it serves.”

Said Peterson, “I look forward to building a dynamic partnership with Andrea Sholler as Executive Director to ensure Dance Theater Workshop’s continuing leadership role in the field of dance and performance. In trying economic times, our holistic approach in support of artists and creative process, and in providing a platform for the lively intersection of contemporary voices that illuminate global as well as local and national issues, is more important than ever. I have full confidence that Dance Theater Workshop’s rich legacy will continue to inform a responsive and innovative future."